World’s Oldest Person Alive Now Last Man From 19th Century

The oldest person in the world, Jiroemon Kimura, with his granddaughter-in-law Eiko Kimura. (Getty Images)

Not only is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan the oldest living person in the world, he is now the last living man born in the 19th century, reports the New York Daily News.

Kimura, who was born on April 19, 1897, had already held the title of oldest living person at age 116, but after the death of James Emmanuel “Doc” Sisnett of Barbados at age 113, he is now the only man alive born before January 1, 1901. However, while Kimura may be the only man, according to the Gerontolgy Research Group at UCLA, there are still 21 women out there born in the 19th century. Most of the women are from the United States and Japan with a few others in Europe and Canada.

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Kimura became the oldest living person in 2012 after the death of Dina Manfredini of the United States. The worlds oldest woman, 115-year-old Misao Okawa, also lives in Japan.

The 116-year-old celebrated his last birthday just a little over a month ago with a customary meal of rice, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. He attributes his old age to eating small portions of food. Kimura retired in 1962 after working 45 years in the Japanese post office. He has five children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren.